1995 News Releases

U.S. EPA CITES 11 FACILITIES FOR UNDERGROUND TANK VIOLATIONS

(San Francisco)-- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) today announced it has cited 11 facilities in Hawaii and fined them a total of $3,550 for violating underground fuel storage tank regulations under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, which governs management of hazardous waste.

"Compliance with underground storage tank regulations is crucial to preventing groundwater and soil contamination from leaking underground tanks," said Laura Yoshii, director of the office of waste programs for U.S. EPA's western regional office. "Fuel tank owners and operators who violate these regulations put our water supplies at risk and may create costly cleanup and public safety hazard problems to deal with in the future."

The facilities had a total of 27 violations. These included: failing to install leak detection devices, failing to properly conduct monthly monitoring of product levels in underground tanks, and failing to operate the leak detectors adequately.

The U.S. EPA's underground storage tank (UST) field citation program is designed to quickly bring owners and operators of underground fuel tanks into compliance with federal UST regulations. Facilities that receive a citation are required to comply with the regulations and pay any penalty within 30 days. If they do not, they will be subject to a more formal enforcement action and be liable for penalties of up to $10,000 per day per violation. The citations impose penalties which generally range from $50 to $300 per violation. The citations were issued immediately by U.S. EPA after joint inspections by U.S. EPA and the Hawaii Department of Health. The facilities cited were: Kams Express, HPC Foods, Ogden Aviation Services, 7-11 University, Ameron HC&D Kapaa Quarry, Honolulu; NEX Gas Station, Pearl Harbor; Honsador, Inc., Ewa Beach; Alii Wahiawa Service, Shell Service Station, Wahiawa; Kaneohe Bay Marine Corps Base, Kaneohe; and City & County of Honolulu, Kaneohe Base Yard. # # #